Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0040822 (tremor)
18,428 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Three dimensional (3-D) cultures of pineal cell aggregates were obtained by constant gyratory shaking the heterogenous cell populations, obtained from the rat pineals, in the DMEM (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium). Within 4 days, the pineal cells became organized into a tissue like configuration appearing as a compact ball, evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy. The 3-D aggregates seemed to be mainly composed of pinealocytes (round-oval cells), glial (elongated cells) and other unknown cells. The heterogenous cells were separated by intercellular spaces. The ultrastructural characteristics revealed by transmission electron microscopy exhibited the presence of granular lysosomes, typical of pinealocytes actively involved in the secretion. These pineal cell aggregates secreted melatonin and other indole amines i.e. 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MT), indole acetic acid (IAA), 5-methoxy-3-indole acetic acid (5-MIAA), tryptophol (TOL) and 5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTL) in the culture medium, indicating the functional aspect of pinealocytes. The 3-D aggregates cultures had advantages over the pineal monolayer cultures as, after 4 days of culture, the amounts of indole amines secreted by 3-D aggregates were higher than those secreted by monolayer cultures. Besides, the 3-D aggregates remained functional till 24 days in the gyratory culture conditions. In the continuous perifusion system, the 3-D aggregates secreted melatonin while challanged with isoproterenol. This 3-D model of pineal cell aggregates might be useful, in future, to perform other kinetic studies of the release of indole amines in perifusion experiments as this system allows the maintenance of pineal cells for a long period of time.
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PMID:Three dimensional culture of pineal cell aggregates: a model of cell-cell co-operation. 755 Feb 81

The effect of Thymomodulin-TFX on pentetrazole convulsions, tremorine-induced tremor, pain response to intraperitoneal acetic acid injection, hexobarbital sleeping time, isolated guinea pig ileum, isolated rat uterus, rabbit skeletal muscle response, diuresis and corneal response was tested. In addition the effect of TFX on reproduction of albino rats was investigated. In doses up to 20 mg/kg, 8 times higher than clinical doses, TFX did not reveal any unwanted effects. The results of tests widen the security margin for TFX's usage.
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PMID:Pharmacological properties of the extract of thymus gland (Thymomodulin-TFX) and its effect on reproduction. 806 58

Ten free monoamines and their metabolites in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were simultaneous measured in 6 levodopa-untreated (LU), 18 levodopa-treated (LT) and 37 levodopa-withdrawn (LW) Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 26 controls. We found that the levels of these substances in LW patients were not significantly different from those in LU patients. In LU- and LW-PD patients, CSF epinephrine (EPI) was higher (P < 0.05) than that of the controls. 3-methoxy-DOPA (3-OMDOPA) might not inhibit the accumulation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and dopamine metabolites in CSF. Levodopa treatment might change the dopaminergic and serotoninergic neuronal systems, but not the noradrenergic or adrenergic neuronal systems, in CNS of PD patients. Benserazide (a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor) in Madopar might decrease the levels of serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE), but not those of DOPA and homovanillic acid (HVA), in plasma. HVA, NE and EPI in plasma were not good indices for those in CSF. Otherwise, our results were consistent with some other studies by showing a significantly lower level (P < 0.01) of HVA in CSF of LU- and LW-PD patients than that of the controls, while no difference for NE, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) or 3-OMDOPA was noted. The severity of clinical disability was related to the deficiency of CSF HVA and DOPAC in LU- and LW-PD patients; however, there was no relationship between clinical symptoms of tremor, rigidity-bradykinesia, autonomic dysfunction, dementia, depression or levodopa-induced dyskinesia and CSF monoamines or their metabolites.
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PMID:Monoamines and their metabolites in plasma and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid of Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease. 833 58

Mechanisms underlying the selective vulnerability of the lateral striatal area to the toxic effects of 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) were investigated in rats. A single exposure to 3-NPA (20 mg/kg, s.c.) induced no deficits in behavior and histology, but subsequent injection produced motor symptoms, catalepsy, lip smacking, abnormal gait, paddling, rolling, opisthotonos, tremor, recombence, somnolence and so on, in 30% of the animals within a few hours. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the brains revealed an area of high signal intensity in the bilateral striata. By this stage (within a few hours), striatal astrocytes had become swollen and disintegrated. Extravasation of immunoglobulin G was detected, indicating blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. Electron microscopy revealed edema and disorganization of structures inside the astrocytic end-feet around the branches of the lateral striatal artery. Neurons were less vulnerable than astrocytes to the 3-NPA injury. Treatment of the rats with D2 receptor agonist prior to exposure to 3-NPA attenuated the behavioral abnormalities and histological damage whereas pretreatment with D2 antagonist exacerbated these changes. The concentrations of extracellular dopamine (DA) and dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) were both increased in rats exposed to 3-NPA. In vitro imaging of astrocytes revealed a progressive increase in [Ca2+]i after superfusion with 3-NPA, and the 'ceiling' level was maintained even after extensive washing. DA superfusion also increased the astrocytic [Ca2+]i and this increase was reversible. Data indicate that 3-NPA-induced striatal damage was associated with astrocytic cell death and dysfunction of the BBB. Intracellular edema and extreme Ca2+ overload induced by the toxin were further aggravated by an increase in the level of DA activity. These factors acting either singly or in combination may trigger astrocyte destruction.
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PMID:Acute 3-nitropropionic acid intoxication induces striatal astrocytic cell death and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier: involvement of dopamine toxicity. 915 47

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method for the analysis of sulfamethazine (SMT) in complete swine and cattle feed was collaboratively studied. The method uses post-column derivatization with dimethylaminobenzaldehyde and detection at 450 nm. To 5g finely ground feed, extractant (0.2N HCl + 1.5% diethylamine in 25% methanol), and internal standard solutions are added, and the SMT is extracted by shaking for 1 h. Clarified extract (high-level sample extract diluted to a target concentration of ca 5.5 microg/mL) is chromatographed on a Cla reversed-phase LC column with acetonitrile-2% acetic acid (17 + 83) mobile phase. Sulfamerazine is used as an internal, or surrogate standard to correct for variable recovery of sulfamethazine from a variety of feed matrixes. Six Youden matched-pair samples were sent to 10 collaborators in Korea, Canada, and the United States. Label claims on the commercial feeds ranged from 0.0077 to 0.22% SMT. The SMT mean recovery as determined from the 5 samples with known analyte content was 99.8%. The within-laboratory relative standard deviation (repeatability) ranged from 0.28 to 4.72%. Among-laboratory (including within-laboratory) relative standard deviation (reproducibility) ranged from 1.26 to 4.87%. The authors recommend the method for AOAC INTERNATIONAL Official First Action status.
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PMID:Determination of sulfamethazine in swine and cattle feed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization: collaborative study. 1077 62

A number of risk factors have been linked epidemiologically with gastric cancer, but studies of DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells are limited. The comet assay is a simple technique for determining levels of DNA damage in individual cells. In this study, we have validated the comet assay for use in epithelial cells derived directly from human gastric biopsies, determined optimal conditions for biopsy digestion and investigated the effects of oxidative stress and digestion time on DNA damage. Biopsies taken at endoscopy were digested using combinations of pronase and collagenase, ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (EDTA) and vigorous shaking. The resultant cell suspension was assessed for cell concentration and epithelial cell and leukocyte content. A score for DNA damage, the comet %, was derived from the cell suspension, and the effect of various digestion conditions was studied. Cells were incubated with H(2)O(2) and DNA damage was assessed. Pronase and collagenase provided optimum digestion conditions, releasing 1. 12x10(5) cells per biopsy, predominantly epithelial. Of the 23 suspensions examined, all but three had leukocyte concentrations of less than 20%. The comet assay had high inter-observer (6.1%) and inter-assay (4.5%) reproducibility. Overnight storage of the biopsy at 4 degrees C had no significant effect on DNA migration. Comet % increased from a median of 46% in untreated cells to 88% in cells incubated for 45 min in H(2)O(2) (p=0.005). Serial 25-min digestions were performed on biopsies from 13 patients to release cells from successively deeper levels in the crypt. Levels of DNA migration were significantly lower with each digestion (r=-0.94, p<0.001), suggesting that DNA damage is lower in younger cells released from low in the gastric crypt. The comet assay is a reproducible measure of DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells. Damage accumulates in older, more superficial cells, and can be induced by oxidative stress.
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PMID:In vivo DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells. 1086 59

The central and peripheral effects of a series of Oxotremorine/Oxotremorine-M derivatives, previously characterized as muscarinic agonists in isolated preparations, were investigated in in vivo experiments. The molecules were tested for their antinociceptive activity (formalin licking and acetic acid writhing tests) and for their ability to induce tremor in mice. Peripheral cholinergic effects such as salivation, bradycardia, hypotension and intestinal hypermotility were studied in anaesthetized rats. All of the acetylenic compounds acted as muscarinic analgesics displaying the same order of potency shown in in vitro studies. The Oxotremorine-like subset showed a clearer distinction between doses producing antinociception and doses exerting undesirable central/peripheral side effects compared to the Oxotremorine-M derivatives. The most promising profile was displayed by the isoxazolin-3-one Oxotremorine-like derivative (compound 1a), which was characterized by a wider therapeutic window than that of the parent molecule Oxotremorine. Indeed, it produced atropine-sensitive analgesia (ID50 about 0.1 mg/kg i.p.) in the absence of tremorogenic (EC50 2.73 mg/kg i.p.) and cardiovascular effects while lethality occurred only at higher doses (LD50 19 mg/kg i.p.). These results suggest that such a derivative could be a candidate for further development of selective muscarinic analgesics.
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PMID:Evidence for specific analgesic activity of a muscarinic agonist selected among a new series of acetylenic derivatives. 1127 Jun 24

An improved analytical method was developed which may be applied to quality control of stevioside and rebaudioside A contents in dried leaves of Stevia rebaudiana before processing; in a selective sampling program searching for plants of higher yield in diterpene glycosides content; or when a large number of samples are sent to the laboratory for analysis. The procedure developed involves two steps: solvent extraction followed by an isocratic HPLC analysis. The sample, 1 g of dried leaves of S. rebaudiana, is ground and solvent-extracted with EtOH 70% (w/w) in Erlenmeyer flasks by shaking for 30 min in a 70 degrees C water bath. After the extract was cooled, it was filtered and analyzed by HPLC using an NH(2) column (250 x 4.6 mm) and a mixture of acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v) as mobile phase, pH 5 adjusted with acetic acid. The detection was in the UV range at 210 nm (0.04 AUFS). Quantitation was performed by means of an external standard calibration curve for each analyte which had been obtained from standard solutions of pure stevioside and rebaudioside A. Working under these conditions there were no observed interference effects. The method saves time in sample preparation, and reduces sample handling and chromatographic analysis time, while having little loss of precision [coefficient of variation (CV%) between 1.8% and 3.0%] and recovery [between 98.5% and 100.5%]. The method was applied to 30 samples of S. rebaudiana from Misiones (Northeastern Argentina), and the stevioside content found ranged between 3.78 and 9.75% (weight) whereas Rebaudioside A content ranged between 1.62 and 7.27% (weight).
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PMID:Analysis of sweet diterpene glycosides from Stevia rebaudiana: improved HPLC method. 1159 85

Different liquid-solid extraction techniques, including room-temperature leaching with mechanical shaking, ultrasonic, and microwave-assisted extractions, have been evaluated for the quantitative speciation of tin for mono-, di-, and tributyltin (MBT, DBT, and TBT, respectively) in PACS-2 and BCR-646 certified reference materials. A methanol-acetic acid mixture was used as the extractant reagent in all cases. For this purpose, a mixed spike containing 119Sn-enriched MBT (79.7 At%), 118Sn-enriched DBT (86.7 At%), and 119Sn-enriched TBT (83.1 At%), was synthesized, characterized, and used for isotope dilution analysis. The isotopic composition of the mixed spike was determined by gas chromatography/ICPMS after aqueous ethylation using sodium tetraethylborate, and the determination of the concentration of the different species in the spike was performed by means of reverse isotope-dilution analysis using natural MBT, DBT, and TBT standards. In the analysis of the certified sediments, the sample was spiked with the mixed spike, extracted under different conditions, derivatized with sodium tetraethylborate, and extracted into hexane, and the isotope ratios 120/118 and 120/119 were measured as peak area ratios for all butyltin species after GC/ICPMS. Mass bias was corrected using a derivatized natural standard every three sample injections. Sequential degradation reactions during extraction (from TBT to DBT, from DBT to MBT, and from MBT to inorganic tin) were assumed, and mathematical equations were developed that allowed the determination of the correct species concentration and the decomposition factor for each of the transformation reactions. For ultrasonic extraction and mechanical shaking, negligible degradation reactions were observed. However, for microwave assisted extractions, degradation factors up to 7% (TBT to DBT) and 16% (DBT to MBT) were obtained for both reference materials when high-MW energy was applied in the extraction step. For the three extraction techniques tested, the DBT and TBT concentration values obtained for PACS-2 closely matched the certified values. However, for MBT the concentrations found by microwave and ultrasonic extraction were much higher than the certified value. This was not the case for mechanical shaking. The results obtained for BCR-646 using microwave assisted extraction were in good agreement with the certified values for all tin species.
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PMID:Evaluation of extraction techniques for the determination of butyltin compounds in sediments using isotope dilution-GC/ICPMS with 118Sn and 119Sn-enriched species. 1179 50

The investigational anti-cancer drug 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA) was developed by the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre (ACSRC). It has recently completed Phase I trials in New Zealand and UK under the direction of the Cancer Research Campaign's Phase I/II Clinical Trials Committee. As a biological response modifier, pharmacological and toxicological properties of DMXAA are remarkably different from most conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Induction of cytokines (particularly tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), serotonin and nitric oxide (NO)), anti-vascular and anti-angiogenic effects are considered to be major mechanisms of action based on in vitro and animal studies. In cancer patients of Phase I study, DMXAA also exhibited various biological effects, including induction of TNF-alpha, serotonin and NO, which are consistent with those effects observed in in vitro and animal studies. Preclinical studies indicated that DMXAA had more potent anti-tumour activity compared to flavone-8-acetic acid (FAA). In contrast to FAA that did not show anti-tumour activity in cancer patients, DMXAA (22 mg/kg by intravenous infusion over 20 min) resulted in partial response in one patient with metastatic cervical squamous carcinoma in a Phase I study where 65 cancer patients were enrolled in New Zealand. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in mouse, rabbit, rat and human was 30, 99, 330, and 99 mg/kg respectively. The dose-limiting toxicity of DMXAA in cancer patients included acute reversible tremor, cognitive impairment, visual disturbance, dyspnoea and anxiety. The plasma protein binding and distribution into blood cells of DMXAA are dependent on species and drug concentration. DMXAA is extensively metabolised, mainly by glucuronidation of its acetic acid side chain and 6-methylhydroxylation, giving rise to DMXAA acyl glucuronide (DMXAA-G), and 6-hydroxymethyl-5-methylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (6-OH-MXAA), which are excreted into bile and urine. DMXAA-G has been shown to be chemically reactive, undergoing hydrolysis, intramolecular migration and covalent binding. Studies have indicated that DMXAA glucuronidation is catalysed by uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferases (UGT1A9 and UGT2B7), and 6-methylhydroxylation by cytochrome P450 (CYP1A2). Non-linear plasma pharmacokinetics of DMXAA has been observed in animals and patients, presumably due to saturation of the elimination process and plasma protein binding. Species differences in DMXAA plasma pharmacokinetics have been observed, with the rabbit having the greatest plasma clearance, followed by the human, rat and mouse. In vivo disposition studies in these species did not provide an explanation for the differences in MTD. Co-administration of DMXAA with other drugs has been shown to result in enhanced anti-tumour activity and alterations in pharmacokinetics, as reported for the combination of DMXAA with melphalan, thalidomide, cyproheptadine, and the bioreductive agent tirapazamine, in mouse models. Species-dependent DMXAA-thalidomide pharmacokinetic interactions have been observed. Co-administration of thalidomide significantly increased the plasma area of the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of DMXAA in mice, but had no effect on DMXAA's pharmacokinetics in the rat. It appears that the pharmacological and toxicological properties of DMXAA as a new biological response modifier are unlikely to be predicted based on preclinical studies. Similar to many biological response modifiers, DMXAA alone did not show striking anti-tumour activity in patients. However, preclinical studies of DMXAA-drug combinations indicate that DMXAA may have a potential role in cancer treatment when co-administered with other drugs. Further studies are required to explore the molecular targets of DMXAA and mechanisms for the interactions with other drugs co-administered during combination treatment, which may allow for the optimisation of DMXAA-based chemotherapy.
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PMID:5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA): a new biological response modifier for cancer therapy. 1220 91


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